There was lots of buzz this weekend about Natalie Portman’s body double — ballerina Sarah Lane — claiming she did most of the dancing in the movie Black Swan. Portman’s face, Lane says, was grafted onto her body by film editors. (Example of the movie’s very cool special effects above.)

It’s another interesting twist in the making of this fascinating movie. The Wall Street Journal has a Q&A with Lane HERE…

“Between my girlfriend and I me, there are probably between 1,000 and 1,250 books in our apartment, a number I consider rather paltry. Ideally, I’d like to double that number once we buy our first home — we currently rent — and I’m no longer faced with the prospect of hauling countless boxes of books between addresses.

“No, the problem, in my opinion, is not the number of books I own, but that I am unable to get rid of any of them. I own some terrible, terrible books — you wouldn’t believe how many crap books get published in this country — but cannot, for the life of me, part with a single one. I am a book hoarder, which, in my line of work, is a troublesome problem to have.”

Medley adds:

“When A&E’s Hoarders premiered a couple of years ago, I watched with morbid fascination; that’s me, I thought, in 25 years (OK, five years).”

*

This is me — right down to watching the Hoarders episodes on A&E! I have a friend who is merciless about getting rid of her old books (she leaves boxes of them on the doorsteps of second-hand stores late at night.) She says I should be less sentimental, but somehow I just can’t…

Photographer Irina Werning has long been fascinated with old photographs, especially the ones that capture the goofy poses and dated interiors.

“Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact them today,” she explains on her website.“A few months ago, I decided to actually do this. So, with my camera, I started inviting people to go back to their future.”Her subjects dug out their old photographs, and — with a little creative staging — allowed Werning to recreate their past.The result is amazing:

GAHH, people are so funny! I love them.

Werning — who took most of these photos in London and Buenos Aries (where she’s living at the moment) — has more photos like this on her website.

ALSO:

She looking for new subjects for her Back to the Future II series.

If you’re in New York or Boston (in May) or in Europe (in June)
and don’t care about reliving your past,

I’m looking forward to staring my new book this weekend — The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery. And, I really want to go to the flea market to search for lovely little treasures to incorporate into the jewelry I’m making at the moment.

I’ve been thinking so much this weekend about the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. More than 1,000 people are confirmed dead and more than 10,000 are missing. Parts of the country have very little electricity and no water supply. People need food, blankets and shelter.

I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to donate to the relief efforts. Philanthropy.com has a good list of charities that are responding. HERE’S THE LINK if you’re interested in giving too.